Tiger Hill, Kargil

Tiger Hill
Tiger hill (higest mountain seen in the background) as seen from the Rive Indus in Kargil.
Elevation	17,411 ft (5,307 m)
Location
Location	Drass/Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir
Range	The Himalayas

Tiger Hill or "Point 5353" is a mountain in the Drass-Kargil area of Jammu & Kashmir. It is the highest peak in the area and was the subject of the most famous battle during the 1999 India-Pakistan Kargil War. Its recapture was the most important objective for Indian forces during the Kargil War.

Strategic Importance

Since Tiger Hill is the highest peak in the sector, the Pakistani forces who held the peak could easily see the military headquarters of the 56 Brigade, the main Indian force in charge of the area. The Pakistanis could also watch the Srinagar-Leh Highway, the main supply route of the Kargil Sector, and relay information of troop and supply movements to their superiors.

India could not allow this, since with this information, Pakistan could accurately and easily shell the Indian positions. Furthermore, the Pakistanis had infiltrated farther into the Kargil Sector, and India needed a good surveillance point to root out and destroy these posts.

The battle

Main article: Battle of Tiger Hill

Indian artillery started shelling Tiger Hill to force the enemy to keep their head down, while the 18 Grenadiers, 2 Naga, and 8 Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army got ready to attack Tiger Hill. The main tactic was the most difficult ever employed on an open battlefield. An Indian contingent of 12-18 soldiers were to climb a steep cliff with a height of 1000 feet and attack the Pakistani forces, which were then engaged in shelling with Indian artillery, and stage a surprise attack.

The assault team had 200 men, with some 2000 troops providing rear support. Such was the determination of the Indians soldiers that most of the Grenadiers eschewed their rations to carry extra ammunition. In the 36 hour operation, the first meal they had were the dates left behind by the retreating Pakistani soldiers.

While the Alpha, Charlie, and Ghatak companies of the Grenadiers attacked from the rear, the Nagas were on the left flank, and the Sikhs on the right. The assault began at 5:15pm on July 3, with India shelling the Pakistani positions. The Pakistanis returned fire.^{[citation needed]}

While this was happening, the mountaineer Grenadiers had moved into position, and at 8pm, attacked. 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed, and 2 escaped; 5 Indian soldiers were also killed. The main hero of the battle was Indian Soldier Yogendra Singh Yadav who was later awarded with the highest award of the Indian Army Param Vir Chakra .

By 6:50am, on July 4, the Indians re-captured Tiger Hill.^[1]

Aftermath

The Grenadiers were given instant battle honors by General V.P. Malik, and were only the 2nd regiment to receive them in the Kargil War. They were also presented with a case of scotch whisky by the General.

The victory was hailed a great success in India, and boosted the morale of the Indian soldiers. It led to a series of victories for the Indian forces, and to the eventual victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War. The battle of Kargil was adapted into a Bollywood Movie, Lakshya starring Hrithik Roshan, directed by Farhan Akhtar

References

1. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWwBbBhHV0w

• http://www.ikashmir.net/kargilheroes/spirits.html
• http://ibnlive.in.com/news/10-years-of-kargil-heroes-recall-the-war/96326-3.html